Tag: Video Games

“Would you kindly…” and “A man chooses. A slave obeys.”

From: BioShock

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Atlas and Andrew Ryan

The story behind the quote: The quotes comes from BioShock. The game takes place in an underwater utopia turned battleground called Rapture. You control Jack who crashes in Rapture and, contacted by the mysterious Atlas. Atlas claims that the leader of Rapture, Andrew Ryan, has incarcerated his family and he needs Jack to help rescue them.

The quote comes from near the end of the game. After numerous battles, Jack reaches the office of Andrew Ryan. Ryan has been waiting calmly for Jack. Ryan reveals to Jack why he has been so tenacious in following everything that Atlas told him to do…

WARNING: The clip actually reveals a MAJOR SPOILER for the game! Read at your own risk.

Geek wisdom: We all have the habit of following the crowd, not questioning whatever is put in front of us. We just accept what we are told. Like soldiers in a way following orders. We blindly follow what others tell us to buy, to wear and to use without question. Like in BioShock, the main character, we think we have free will. Yet, based on our instincts of just following what we are told, we apparently don’t.

Sometimes, we need to question authority. We need to break away from this pattern. We need to think for ourselves.

“The president has been kidnapped by ninjas. Are you a bad enough dude to rescue the president?”

From: Bad Dudes

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Random Army General?

The story behind the quote: Bad Dudes originated as an arcade side scrolling beat ’em up by Data East. The game was then ported to various home consoles, including on the PC and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES for short). Originally called Bad Dudes vs. DragonNinja, the game has the President of the United States captured by the terrorist (?) organization DragonNinja. You control either Blade or Striker in their quest to recover the President.

The quote comes from the introduction screen from the NES version where your commanding officer asks you if you have what it takes to get the President. The quote has become somewhat of a meme in recent times.

Geek wisdom: There will always be challenges to face in life. Some of these problems may even seem insurmountable to overcome at first glance. We even may be tempted to just give up against the adversity.

We have to think of these tests as something we have to take on. We have to at least step up to the challenge and try to overcome them. If we don’t even try, then we’ve truly been beaten. Try with all your might to conquer and solve adversity and problems. You may surprise yourself and find out that a difficult task may actually be easier to solve than you realize.

“The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.”

From: Half-Life 2

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: G-Man

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Half-Life 2. Developed by Valve, it is the second game in the Half-Life series and continues the adventures of scientist Gordon Freeman in a dystopian future. Both games have been met with critical praise due to the game’s deep storyline and excellent game mechanics.

The quote comes from the start of the game and delivered by the mysterious G-Man. During the introductory cutscene, G-Man wakes Gordon from stasis and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: Circumstances may put you in a terrible situation. You could have made an innocent mistake and the problem you were trying to fix snowballed into something bigger. Or you could have just been minding your own business when a crisis suddenly erupts. No matter the reason, you have to face the fact that you’re right smack in the middle of it. And hiding or saying it’s none of your business is going to be out of the question.

In fact, fate may have put you there because you are the one who will be able to resolve the situation. So, if you have a solution and you know how to resolve the problem, dive headlong and do whatever it takes to be part of the solution, not the problem.

“Do you think love can bloom even on the battlefield?”

From: Metal Gear Solid

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Hal “Otacon” Emmerich

The story behind the quote: Here’s another quote from the highly rated Metal Gear Solid. The game tackles a lot of weighty topics, such as genetic engineering, the evils of war and, for this post, love.

The quote is mentioned during one conversation between Hal “Otacon” Emmerich and the hero of the game, Solid Snake. After Snake managed to get up a huge staircase, Otacon shows up. Knowing that Otacon is good with machines, Snake requests for the tech genius to check what’s wrong with the elevator. However, before that, Otacon asks Snake a rather personal question.

Geek wisdom: Love is something that will appear when you least expect it. You may find your significant other when you least expect it. Or you may already know that person but never thought of him/her in a romantic fashion. Love is funny and unpredictable. But, when you do find it (or it reveals itself to you), be sure you’re ready to accept it wholeheartedly.

“Plug your Controller into Controller port 2.”

From: Metal Gear Solid

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Col. Campbell

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the highly acclaimed Metal Gear Solid for the original PlayStation. The game has you controlling Solid Snake who is on a mission to stop the elite FOXHOUND squad from stealing the latest version of the Metal Gear mobile nuclear launcher, Metal Gear Rex.

The quote comes during the middle of the game, during Snake’s battle with Psycho Mantis. Normally, your attacks will not connect on Mantis as he is constantly reading your mind so he knows when to avoid your attacks. Defeating him is almost impossible if you play normally.

However, if you contact Col. Campbell (your commanding officer) enough times, he figures out that Mantis is actually reading your controller inputs! He suggests to Snake (actually, the player) to use a controller in the other port so the mindreader will not be able to check on your movements.

Also, if you cannot use controller port 2 for any reason, Col. Campbell and Naomi Hunter gives you another way to defeat Psycho Mantis…

Geek wisdom: It’s always best to look think out of the box to find great solutions. This is much easier said than done. But by looking at a problem from a different angle, we can, at times, find extremely simple but brilliant answers to them.

Never restrain yourself by looking at a problem one way. Get another person’s views. Put yourself in another person shoes. Try to come up with solutions that are “impossible” to do. You can even try talking to yourself about the problem! There are a lot more ways to “think outside the box” than what’s mentioned here!

“Kick! Punch! It’s all in the mind!”

From: PaRappa The Rappa

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Chop Chop Master Onion

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from one of the first games to come out for the original PlayStation, PaRappa The Rappa. It became a big success for Sony’s new console because of its very unique look as well as having some pretty memorable songs. The game tells the story of PaRappa, an anthropomorphic dog who has a crush on Sunny Funny. Throughout the story, PaRappa goes through different events in his quest to impress Sunny Funny.

The quote comes from the very first stage of the game, entitled I Need To Be A Hero. After watching a superhero film, PaRappa and his friends go hang out at their local burger joint. They get accosted by the local bully before they are “rescued” by a person named Joe Chin, who seems to have impressed Sunny Funny. PaRappa then imagines becoming a hero and taking down the bullies. But, before he’s able to do that, he realizes he needs to be good at fighting. So, he visits Chop Chop Master Onion to learn karate from him.

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, we can set limitations with the things we can do. We can have self-doubt tell us that something is impossible. Bashfulness and shyness can actually prevent us from doing great things. And the fear of failure can stop up from even trying something.

But, like Chop Chop Master Onion said, “It’s all in the mind!” Self-doubt, shyness and fear of failure are pretty much barriers from achieving greatness. So, kick and punch out these things from your thoughts!

“I’m Commander Shepard and this is my favorite store on the Citadel”

From: Mass Effect 2

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Commander Shepard

The story behind the quote: Mass Effect 2 is the second installment of the Mass Effect trilogy. In the games, you take control of Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre. In the first game, Shepard learns of the Reapers, a sentient race of machines that wipe out all organic life in the galaxy after a certain amount of time has passed. Shepard does manage to prevent the initial invasion from happening. However, it only postponed the inevitable.

In the second game, Shepard is proclaimed a hero after the events of the 1st game. Shepard decides to capitalize on this to get discounts from the various stores of the Citadel. The Commander simply delivers the same quote as a personal endorsement at different shops.

Geek wisdom: We see celebrities endorse products all the time and we do get the urge to buy whatever product it may be because the person using it is popular and well-known. But, here’s the thing: are they being honest when they do it? Or are they just doing it because they are getting paid to do it?

Here, Commander Shepard goes around different stores on the Citadel and makes a recording that they are his/her “favorite store” in the area. Which is not true. He/She is doing it to get a discount!

People lie. It’s up to us to try to tell the lies and the truth apart.

“Little dog? *arf, arf* Or big dog? *woof, woof*”

From: LifeLine

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Rio

The story behind the quote: This quote actually comes from an Easter Egg from Lifelife for the Playstation 2. This survival horror game from Konami is remembered because it was a good game (most reviews gave it an average score). Rather, what made his PS2 game memorable was its unique control scheme.

It takes place in the future where you are attending a party in a hotel that is orbiting the Earth. The festivities are abruptly put on hold due to invasion of alien monsters. Your character gets trapped in the control center of the space hotel. Your character manages to make contact with another survivor named Rio (voiced by Kristen Miller). However, you can only communicate with her by actually talking to her.

As mentioned, the game was pretty different from other survival horror games because of the way you control Rio. The player cannot use the controller to issue orders to Rio. Rather, you would have to use a PS2 USB microphone and give the commands by talking to her. The concept was good… but the execution was bad. The game simply couldn’t keep up, especially if you issue commands hurriedly. However, using your voice to control the onscreen character was used in weird ways, especially with the aforementioned quote.

At any time during the game, you can command Rio to bark like a dog for no reason at all. The weird thing is that the developers actually thought of this and Rio has a response for it!

The video below has Adam Sessler reviewing (and blasting) the game. You can skip to 2:03 of the video to here the sequence and the quote. You can clearly see that Adam didn’t really expect a response!

Geek wisdom: Sometimes, taking a weird and irreverent chance can make you stumble on to something good. In the game, there is really no reason to ask Rio to bark like a dog. It’s something generally something someone would do on a whim… and it actually works!

We can get too focused on our own lives and get too serious. Because of this, we forget that being spontaneous and irreverent… just doing something for no reason… can also be fun. Let your hair down once in a while… and bark like a dog for no reason.

“Jill, here’s a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, the master of unlocking, take it with you.”

From: Resident Evil

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Barry Burton

The story behind the quote: The Resident Evil series from Capcom popularized horror games and was the basis for the entire “survival horror” genre. Take note that didn’t actually create survival horror as there were horror games like Alone in the Dark or Clock Tower that came before it. However, it does earn the distinction of taking horror games into the mainstream.

While the first game in the series was a breakthrough and did have some genuine scares (remember the jump you got when the dogs jumped through the windows?), that’s not to say that the story and script was very good. In fact, the voice acting is pretty bad, especially if you compare it to today’s standards. But at the time, having any voice acting in a game was pretty phenomenal. However, there is an advantage to having such poor voice acting and awful dialogue: the quotes in the game become extremely memorable… such as the quote in question.

If you play as Jill Valentine, the female in the game, you and one of your squad members, Barry Burton, get separated from the rest of your team members. So, they decide to split up to cover more ground. Barry then remembers that he found a lockpick. Knowing that Jill is “the master of unlocking,” he generously gives it to Jill since it will be much more useful to her.

Geek wisdom: If you’re not really using something and you know that someone will find that item useful, you might as well let that someone have it. We tend to be greedy with our possessions and actually hoard stuff, citing that we “may need it in the future” or there’s some sentimental value with these items. But there may be people that may need these items much more than you.

Try to remember to help other people. It may be difficult to let go but, if it helps other people, you know that the thing that you loved before is being put into good use.

“What strength! But don’t forget that there are many guys like you all over the world!”

From: Street Fighter

Genre: Video Games

Who said it?: Various characters

The story behind the quote: We’ve already discussed a bunch of Street Fighter II quotes, such as Ryu’s victory quote regarding the “mysterious” Sheng Long and even M. Bison’s quote regarding Tuesday. However, these quotes came from the extremely popular 2nd entry in the series. Most people haven’t even played the original Street Fighter game. Now seems like the perfect time to take a gander at it.

The original Street Fighter game was actually a pretty amazing fighting game… for its time. While there were some games that used different characters like Yie Ar Kung Fu, you normally played as an ordinary guy with no real special skills while your opponents can do amazing things. In Street Fighter, Ryu (or Ken if you’re playing as the 2nd player), you can throw fireballs, perform spinning kicks or a devastating jumping uppercut. While the controls weren’t responsive (you’d be lucky to actually get the fireball motion to register), that was pretty different for its time and did gain a significant following.

Another big innovation would be digitized voices. Ryu and Ken would yell out “Flash Fire” or “Dragon Punch” when they did the fireball and Dragon Punch, respectively. The most memorable use of digitized speech used would have to be the entire quote spouted out by the computer opponent when you beat them. Even though the sound quality was terrible (it was pretty hard to understand it without the subtitles), it was still amazing to actually hear it.

Geek wisdom: You may think that you are the best at a certain thing but you cannot rest on your laurels. You have to constantly practice your craft in order to actually be the best. For example, you may think that you’re the best Street Fighter at your arcade, however, unless you actually go to different arcades and test your skills against new players, you’ll never improve.

Sure there’s a fear of losing, but that fear is also important since the only way you can get better is to try testing yourself against others. If you want to be the best at anything, you have to prove yourself as the best.